Petunia Surfinia Heartbeat

Culture / A How-To Production Guide

Petunia Surfinia Heartbeat

Photo courtesy of Suntory Flowers

New from Suntory Flowers, Surfinia Heartbeat is an adorable novelty petunia. Elegant white flowers feature a pattern of five soft pink hearts. The hearts grow with love, care and adequate fertilizer. While achieving this pattern will be no problem for commercial growers, if a consumer doesn’t feed the plant for a couple of months in a hot summer, the pattern could disappear, which typically happens with many patterned flowers in extreme heat. Surfinia Heartbeat has an attractive and compact mounding and trailing growth habit. It’s charming in hanging baskets, containers and window boxes, and would make a delightful Mother’s Day gift.

Production

General production

Surfinia is a dream to root, 3-4 weeks on the bench. Rooted cuttings should be potted as soon as possible into 4-inch to 6-inch pots. One liner per pot is recommended using a well-drained peat/perlite mix. Surfinia’s branching habit makes an excellent 4-inch pot with a quick turn. Plants can be flowered easily and kept compact with plant growth regulators. Surfinia will require pinching to encourage the right habit and breaks to achieve a bushy, spreading plant. This should be carried out two weeks after potting. But Surfinia Heartbeat is a more naturally compact variety and less vigorous and aggressive than the classic Surfinias.

Photo courtesy of Suntory Flowers

Crop timing

4-inch pots – four to six weeks from one liner with one pinch.

6-inch pots – seven to eight weeks from one liner with two pinches

10-inch baskets – 10-12 weeks with three liners and two to three pinches

Temperature

Crop temperatures should begin at 55-60°F. Then increase to day temperatures of 65-75°F and maintain night temperatures at 55-60°F.

Lighting

High light levels or full sun is encouraged.

Watering

Watering is key, as overwatering will lead to root rot. A little-and-often regime is encouraged when plants are young.

Feeding

Surfinias are heavy feeders and the use of slow-release fertilizer is recommended as they grow, in addition to liquid fertilizer. Keep pH between 5.5 and 5.8. Maintaining adequate fertilizer is essential to create Heartbeat’s heart patterns.

Growth regulators

Surfinia is responsive to daminozide (B-Nine), which can be sprayed at a rate of 2,500-5,000 ppm. With Heartbeat being naturally compact, it will require less than other petunias. A Bonzi drench can be applied at 1-3 ppm as needed. Traditionally, Surfinia grows rapidly in high light and high heat.